CHICAGO - A Chicago hospital is battling for a donation that a major benefactor withdrew because he blamed the staff for failing to find his fatal cancer.

Robert Sessions had pledged $1.5 million to Rush University Medical Center in 1996 but later scratched the gift from his will after finding out he had terminal lung cancer.

The situation has led to multiple lawsuits in which the hospital is demanding the promised money and the Sessions family is alleging medical malpractice.

The Chicago Sun-Times said Monday an Illinois appeals court recently ruled in favor of Rush, saying the original donation had been irrevocable and the hospital had already spent some of it. The ruling stated Rush had fully complied with the terms of the donation, including putting Sessions' name on a "president's house" on the hospital grounds.

There was no immediate word on whether the Sessions family would continue to pursue the case.